All FinCEN Files articles
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ source sentenced to 6 months in prison for disclosing SARs
Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a former senior advisor at FinCEN who provided 2,100 SARs to BuzzFeed News that would form the basis of 2020’s “FinCEN Files” investigation, was sentenced to six months in prison.
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ArticleACAMS survey: FinCEN Files leak a positive for financial industry?
Many compliance professionals in the financial industry believe last year’s leak of 2,100 suspicious activity reports from FinCEN had an overall positive impact on global efforts to fight financial crime, according to an ACAMS survey.
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ArticleAnalysis: Improving SARs effectiveness takes more than act of Congress
In the wake of 2020’s FinCEN Files leaks, the U.S. Treasury this year will undertake a thorough reevaluation of the country’s AML program under the Bank Secrecy Act.
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ArticleWe’ve been failing at AML efforts, but new U.S. rules offer hope
If we fail to improve our collective AML efforts, specialized law firms will offer an inviting incentive to those who blow the whistle on our continued failings, writes Martin Woods.
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ArticleU.S. beneficial ownership efforts a welcome sight for global AML community
U.S. Congress’ defense spending bill requiring corporations to identify who owns and controls them is a significant milestone in the global effort to put an end to anonymous shell companies, writes Martin Woods.
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ reaction poll: Corporate culture blocks AML compliance
In the aftermath of the “FinCEN Files” leak, financial industry practitioners polled by Fenergo say changing the system needs to start within their own institutions.
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ArticleBack to the drawing board on transaction monitoring
In the wake of the “FinCEN Files” leaks, Martin Woods examines whether monitoring text rather than numbers in transactions could serve as a solution to our greater anti-money laundering woes.
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ArticleProgress on beneficial ownership key to AML fight
With the British Virgin Islands vowing its commitment to a beneficial ownership public register, financial crime expert Martin Woods turns his attention toward how the U.K. and U.S. are progressing in the space.
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ArticleWith ‘FinCEN Files,’ don’t shoot the messenger
It’s important we understand with the “FinCEN Files” that the enemy is not a journalist, a regulator, or a banker. The enemy is the money launderer, and this is where we need to focus our thinking and resources, writes Martin Woods.
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WebcastMembers-only Webcast: FinCEN leaks—from the inside
Financial crimes expert Martin Woods and two specialists from the International Compliance Association spend 50 minutes discussing the impact of the “FinCEN Files” story and what it says about the state of AML compliance.
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ArticleBoA a silver lining in damning ‘FinCEN Files’ report; Wells Fargo CEO puts foot in mouth
Bank of America gets a pat on the back for going beyond an “observe and report” approach to filing a SAR, and we learned this week that Wells Fargo’s CEO needs a little unconscious bias training.
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ show Europe’s AML efforts maybe aren’t so world class
The damning revelations from the “FinCEN Files” leaks have once again put Europe and its supposed world-leading anti-money laundering rules under the spotlight.
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ fallout: Where do banks go from here?
The “FinCEN Files” report raises the question: What should banks be doing to address the trillions of dollars’ worth of banking transactions that are facilitating criminal activity every year?
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ArticleFinCEN leaks impart key lessons on basics of writing SARs
Martin Woods, who has analyzed many of the suspicious activity reports released as part of the “FinCEN Files,” offers best practices for compliance officers in writing SARs.
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ highlight bank leadership flaws, not compliance flaws
Compliance has been taking some heat in the wake of the “FinCEN Files” reports, but it’s banks’ senior leadership that failed, not the folks filing all those SARs.
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ArticleFinCEN leaks damage trust between banks and regulators, but serve higher purpose
The “FinCEN Files” leaks divided opinions within the community of financial crime compliance officers. Trust has been damaged, writes Martin Woods, but these leaks could facilitate real reform.
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Article‘FinCEN Files’ report casts compliance officers in unfair light
The BuzzFeed “FinCEN Files” investigation purportedly uncovered evidence of a catastrophic, international collapse of internal controls within the world banking system. But that argument is misleading, to the point of being disingenuous.